7 great stats from William Saliba's man of the match display against Crystal Palace
William Saliba finally made his long-awaited debut for Arsenal in their Premer League opener against Crystal Palace and he did not disappoint.
Saliba joined the Gunners from Saint Etienne for £27million in 2019 before being immediately loaned out to the Ligue 1 side for the 2019-20 season.
He arrived in North London in the summer of 2020 but had no chance under Mikel Arteta, who kicked him out of their Premier League and Europa League squads.
The centre-back enjoyed a promising loan spell at Nice in the second half of 2020-21 and produced brilliant performances for Marseille in 2021-22, winning the League's Young Player of the Year award 1.
Saliba was then deemed ready for Premier League football and started alongside Gabriel for their trip to Crystal Palace on the opening day of the 2022-23 Premier League season.
Gabriel Martinelli's header and a Marc Guehi own goal gave Arsenal a 2-0 win, but Saliba earned Man of the Match.
"I think the most important thing for young players is just to play," former Manchester United defender Gary Neville told Sky Sports after the game. "He has football in him, I was massively impressed with him. He reminded me of a young Rio Ferdinand.
"Crystal Palace away is a tough away game in the Premier League. They come to you. It's a big night for him."
We've rounded up seven of the best stats from the centre-back's impressive display at Selhurst Park.
– Saliba helped Arsenal keep a clean sheet by making seven clearances, blocking one shot and winning three duels.
– He had a 100% success rate for aerial duels and clashes during his 90 minutes against Palace.
– The centre-back has helped his team regain possession seven times and hasn't committed a single foul.
– Saliba has already helped Arsenal keep more clean sheets in August 2022 than they managed in the whole of August 2021.
– Palace have plenty of skillful players like Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze but Saliba was not dribbled past at Selhurst Park.
– The France international showed his ability on the ball, attempting 48 passes and recording a passing accuracy of 93.8%. He also had a 60% success rate with long balls and completed six passes in the final third.
– Saliba channeled his inner Ferdinand by successfully attempting a dribble on his Premier League debut.
More from ArsenalA brilliant Xl of Arsenal players aged 23 or under: Saliba, Saka, Odegaard…
Can you name Arsenal's starting XI after their 6-1 win over Everton in 2009?
William Saliba finally made his long-awaited debut for Arsenal in their Premer League opener against Crystal Palace and he did not disappoint.
Saliba joined the Gunners from Saint Etienne for £27million in 2019 before being immediately loaned out to the Ligue 1 side for the 2019-20 season.
He arrived in North London in the summer of 2020 but had no chance under Mikel Arteta, who kicked him out of their Premier League and Europa League squads.
The centre-back enjoyed a promising loan spell at Nice in the second half of 2020-21 and produced brilliant performances for Marseille in 2021-22, winning the League's Young Player of the Year award 1.
Saliba was then deemed ready for Premier League football and started alongside Gabriel for their trip to Crystal Palace on the opening day of the 2022-23 Premier League season.
Gabriel Martinelli's header and a Marc Guehi own goal gave Arsenal a 2-0 win, but Saliba earned Man of the Match.
"I think the most important thing for young players is just to play," former Manchester United defender Gary Neville told Sky Sports after the game. "He has football in him, I was massively impressed with him. He reminded me of a young Rio Ferdinand.
"Crystal Palace away is a tough away game in the Premier League. They come to you. It's a big night for him."
We've rounded up seven of the best stats from the centre-back's impressive display at Selhurst Park.
– Saliba helped Arsenal keep a clean sheet by making seven clearances, blocking one shot and winning three duels.
– He had a 100% success rate for aerial duels and clashes during his 90 minutes against Palace.
– The centre-back has helped his team regain possession seven times and hasn't committed a single foul.
– Saliba has already helped Arsenal keep more clean sheets in August 2022 than they managed in the whole of August 2021.
– Palace have plenty of skillful players like Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze but Saliba was not dribbled past at Selhurst Park.
– The France international showed his ability on the ball, attempting 48 passes and recording a passing accuracy of 93.8%. He also had a 60% success rate with long balls and completed six passes in the final third.
– Saliba channeled his inner Ferdinand by successfully attempting a dribble on his Premier League debut.
More from ArsenalA brilliant Xl of Arsenal players aged 23 or under: Saliba, Saka, Odegaard…
Can you name Arsenal's starting XI after their 6-1 win over Everton in 2009?
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